Topeka History Geeks group takes closer look at downtown buildings

Fox Builders attempted to use as many of the original aspects of the buildings the brothers purchased in the 100 block of N. Kansas Avenue, including this cooler from Lux Liquors.

Members of the Topeka History Geeks group on Saturday got the rare chance to ride a lift elevator inside 115 N. Kansas Ave., which soon will be closed to the public when it becomes the private living quarters of owners Mike and Steve Fox.

Members of the Topeka History Geeks group on Saturday got the rare chance to ride a lift elevator inside 115 N. Kansas Ave., which soon will be closed to the public when it becomes the private living quarters of owners Mike and Steve Fox.

The original firedoor is still in 115 N. Kansas Ave.

A view of the Capitol from 115 N. Kansas Ave., which Steve and Mike Fox currently are renovating into lofts for their personal use.

Roughly 80 people turned out for Saturday's three-hour, Topeka History Geeks tour of downtown Topeka. The tour included a rare peek inside 115 N. Kansas Ave., which currently is being renovated by Fox Builders into private lofts for the two brothers.

Topeka History Geek Christine Steinkuhler on Saturday leads a group of about 35 people on a tour through historic downtown Topeka. The three-hour tour included seven buildings.

Hundreds of cars drive along Kansas Avenue through downtown Topeka each day, without a second thought to the aging, sometimes crumbling structures that have sat on the strip for decades.

But, from the original brick work to the metal fire doors, the buildings tell a story of Topeka’s history, just waiting for someone to acknowledge, treasure and learn from them.

That group has arrived: The self-professed Topeka History Geeks — check them out on Facebook — have started to pry back the oft-overlooked facades of downtown Topeka, exposing other like-minded folks to the blocks’ unique and varied history.

“It’s cool to know more about the place where we live, to know the history of what happened before us,” said Rhonda Cathey, who toured several buildings with the group Saturday. “It’s a chance to peek behind the doors of historic places you never get to see.”

The Topeka History Geeks on Saturday held their second annual fall tour of downtown buildings, hitting about seven historic spots in the span of three hours. Roughly 80 people came out for tour — nearly double the turnout from last year.

“The idea was to get people out seeing things,” said Christine Steinkuehler, one of the event’s organizers.

The Topeka History Geeks are planning a second tour for late September to feature the north side of downtown, she said.

Saturday’s tour started at 9 a.m. at the historic U.S. Post Office — currently facing an uncertain future after the U.S. Postal Service declared its intent to sell the building — and ended at noon with a 126th anniversary celebration of the Crane Building, 110-112 S.E. 8th.

Despite living in Topeka for more than 60 years, Saturday was Linda Roth’s first time inside the post office, 424 S. Kansas Ave. The group even got to tour the third floor, which houses the former federal room and a historic jail, she said.

“I don’t know how they did that,” Roth said, in awe of the structure.

One highlight of the tour was to see the renovation work at the old Ed Marling’s building, 115 N. Kansas Ave.

Brothers Steve and Mike Fox have been remodeling the 108-year-old building into lofts to serve as their home. The renovations should be done within the next month, Steinkuehler said, essentially making the facility off-limits for the general public.

Saturday’s tour group got a rare chance to look inside the building before it becomes private. Steve Fox himself guided the tour through the building.

“Those old buildings, we got a lot of ’em,” he said. “We try to make them real cool.”

The ground level is being converted into a “mancave” to hold the brothers’ car and motorcycle collection. It also has a bar, featuring the inoperable but original cooler from the old Lux liquor house. The brothers kept as much of the original work as possible, including a fire door that connects other structures in the block and an old wooden elevator that still is in working order. They added several windows, flooding the lofts with natural light to highlight the space’s sleek, modern decor.

“There’s a lot of incentive to do historic buildings,” Fox said, noting the low property taxes on the structures. “There’s so much you can do if you know what you’re doing.”

And they do — Fox Builders specializes in remodeling old buildings, from the Celtic Fox, 118 S.W. 8th, to the building that houses Oddfellows Fine Books and Collectibles, 117 S.W. 6th.

For more information about Topeka History Geeks, visit their Facebook page, which, as of Saturday, was 7,500 members strong.